The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder

In John Ironmonger's debut novel The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder the central character wants to record every thought he's ever had, every memory, every aside, every piece of odd knowledge picked up by reading the back of a cereal box. Maximilian Ponder also wants to leave his brain to science, and believes in the power of his increasingly absurd project. Unfortunately, he's also stuck in 1975.